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Thread: How To: Remove Anodizing From Aluminum Parts

  1. #1
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    Default How To: Remove Anodizing From Aluminum Parts

    Just got this tip in a e-mail, thought I would share in case somebody was wondering how but just not sure.
    when I did mine I used heavy duty grill cleaner and did the same thing.

    How To: Remove Anodizing From Aluminum Parts

    An easy way to change up the look of your vehicle

    Many RC cars these days are identifiable by their anodized aluminum parts. For instance, HPI almost always uses purple or orange; Traxxas vehicles use blue anodized parts and Axial went with green. Sometimes you may be into a vehicle, but not the color used to coat the aluminum parts and that can be a deal breaker for you when purchasing a vehicle. Spending money on new aluminum components in the color of your preference will cost you even more money in the end. We have found a cheap method of removing the color from your aluminum components in a nontoxic way so your parts will be back to their raw silver color. They can then be re-anodized, powder coated or whatever else you decide. The whole process only takes about 15 minutes to complete, and here’s how you do it.

    WHAT DO YOU USE?
    deano3

    Purchase some commercial-strength Greased lightning cleaner and degreaser to remove the anodizing from your parts.

    Anodizing can be removed by sanding the components with various grades of sandpaper starting from a rough grit and ending with a fine grit. This process requires a lot of elbow grease, is time consuming and really only works on aluminum plate due to the easy access to its flat surface. Once you get into machined components such as suspension arms or hubs, the complexity of their shape makes sanding difficult. You can take your parts off to a sand blaster and that will take care of the anodizing in an instant. However, the downside is that you have to search for a sandblasting company to take care of the components, it will cost money to make that happen and the finish of the parts afterward will be rough and dull. The best way we found to remove anodizing is by soaking them in a product called Greased Lightning. It comes in a variety of forms and the commercial grade bottle is what you are looking for when removing anodizing.

    GET STARTED
    Remove all anodized parts from your vehicle and deep clean the items to rid them of any dirt, debris and grease.

    Remove all anodized parts from your vehicle and deep clean the items to rid them of any dirt, debris and grease.

    Start by removing all of the anodized aluminum components from your vehicle. Depending on what parts you want to de-anodize, it may require completely disassembling your vehicle to make it happen. Remember to keep your parts organized during this process so that you’ll have an easy time putting things back together when you’re done. If you’re starting with a new vehicle, your parts will be ready to go. If you’re dealing with an old vehicle, you need to take the time to clean the parts. While you are at it, look them over and make sure that they aren’t damaged. If they are bent or scratched, now’s the time to replace them.
    Wrap a piece of wire or a zip-tie around the part, which will make it easier to place the part in the solution and remove it - the degreaser is not good for your skin!

    Wrap a piece of wire or a zip-tie around the part, which will make it easier to place the part in the solution and remove it – the degreaser is not good for your skin!

    THE REMOVAL PROCESS

    Start by loading your parts into your old pan and fill the pan with Greased Lightning. Add just enough solution to cover the parts and make sure that you don’t crowd them in the pan. Stripping a few parts at a time is more time consuming but will give you better results in the end. Let the parts sit in the pan until the coloring fades away.
    Pour enough of the Greased lightning solution into an old pan to completely submerge all components. Wrap a wire or zip-tie around the components to lower and remove them from the solution.

    Pour enough of the Greased lightning solution into an old pan to completely submerge all components.
    Allow the components to rest in the solution until the color starts to fade away. Agitating the components will help to free up and dissipate the color.

    Allow the components to rest in the solution until the color starts to fade away. Agitating the components will help to free up and dissipate the color.

    While the parts are sitting, fill another pan with clean water so you can dip the parts in after to avoid oxidation of the now bare aluminum. Clean the parts with soap and water to remove any leftover cleaner and you’re ready to go.
    When you remove the components from the solution, immediately place them in a container of clean water (even a plastic cup will do) to avoid oxidation of the aluminum.

    When you remove the components from the solution, immediately place them in a container of clean water (even a plastic cup will do) to avoid oxidation of the aluminum.

    Some of the components may not shed their color easily so it may require some scrubbing with a Scotch-Brite pad.
    Use some steel wool or a Scotch-Brite pad to remove any stubborn anodizing.

    Use some steel wool or a Scotch-Brite pad to remove any stubborn anodizing.

    WHAT NOW?
    After you wash and dry the parts, they are ready to be powder coated, anodized a different color, polished or run in a raw state.

    After you wash and dry the parts, they are ready to be powder coated, anodized a different color, polished or run in a raw state.

    Now that your parts are stripped of their anodized color, you’ll need to decide how to finish them off. Some of you may be happy with the parts as they come out of the solution, but you have some options. You can polish the parts to give them a chrome look and add some bling to your vehicle. Maybe you want them to be anodized a color that doesn’t get used often in the RC world. That can be done and it requires you to find a local anodizing shop and hopefully, they will have a color that will make your parts stand out. This is a costly process but you can reduce the cost if you can wait for a time when they have other parts to anodize that same color. Powder coating the parts is another option and you’ll basically have to go through the same process that you do if you go for anodizing. The one thing that you need to remember is that when parts are powder coated, the coating adds thickness to that part. So some areas may have to be masked before the powder-coat process. It’s easier to do that before than having to remove the hardened coating after the process has been done. The last option is to paint your parts. Paint, however, is easy to scratch, so try to use paint on parts that aren’t easily reached.
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  2. #2
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    Spray on oven cleaner removes anodizing. Easier to find than Greased Lightning and can be found in the dollar stores
    Spray parts in a plastic container, leave soaking for 5-10 minutes. You can watch and swirl the solution as the color comes off. Once the color is gone just rinse with clear water.

  3. #3
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    +1 on the oven cleaner!

  4. #4
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    +2 on the oven clean. I just finished removing the orange anodizing off my motor mounts.
    Last edited by rickwess; 11-09-2013 at 12:21 AM.

  5. #5
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    quite an email. 4000 word essay on how to soak parts in greased lightning.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heaving Earth View Post
    quite an email. 4000 word essay on how to soak parts in greased lightning.
    He he,

    Haven't tried oven cleaner, but Greased Lightening worked great for me!

    See post #15 for a pictorial example...worth 4000 words
    https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ht=#post468244

    Thanks for posting this tip, I know it saved me a pant load of time!!
    This is NOT a toy?!?

  7. #7
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    Haha!!!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #8
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    I love the in only 15minutes.......... seems they hope you forget the countless hours of r/r

  9. #9
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    Quick 'n' easy...

    Take the part(s) to your local gunsmith and ask them to borrow their sand / bead blast machine or have them do it.

    Even if you have multiple parts, they can be done in under 15-minutes.

    Best of all, the parts are perfectly prepped for re-finishing - regardless of which type you choose.

    Food for thought...

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Barnacle View Post
    Quick 'n' easy...

    Take the part(s) to your local gunsmith and ask them to borrow their sand / bead blast machine or have them do it.

    Even if you have multiple parts, they can be done in under 15-minutes.

    Best of all, the parts are perfectly prepped for re-finishing - regardless of which type you choose.

    Food for thought...
    And so much easier than spraying on oven cleaner or soaking in gl


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. #11
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    FWIW phosphoric acid works really well. It's the active component in rust converters, turns iron oxide into iron phosphate which is inert and can be painted over. Lets just say I was less than happy when I made this discovery by accident. Converted the rust spot no problem, ate the anodizing off some trim!
    If my boats upside down then who owns the one I thought I was driving the last two laps?

  12. #12
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    You have to use the HD Ezoff, the fumeless stuff doesn't work. Found out the hard way. if you leave it to long, it will pit the alum.

  13. #13
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    E-Z-OFF Works well, but it only removes the color from process . It will turn a scary looking black as it works wash off with water.

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